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[melos]

so apparently

and

looks better than

flat aesthetic maan flat aesthetic (but still, that is really bogus - they worked really hard on finishing dust)

At the very least I'm glad some smaller games are getting Steam deals.

[Schoq]

The funny/not funny part is that it's the second year it was valued lower than coloured geometric primitives

gg igf

[phubans]

Yeah, it's hard to take IGF seriously. It really does seem like back-patting between cliquesters more than anything in a lot of cases

[eyeliner]

so apparently

and

looks better than

Well, I find those games you downgrade beautiful...
Dust is amazing, and should be up there...

Did it enter IGF? I find it impossible it was ignored like that...

[eyeliner]

Nope they announced a while back that mobile games would be rolled in with the rest, they said the quality of mobile games is getting high enough that they can be judged with all of the other games (if I recall correctly).

Ah, okay. Glad I didn't enter then.

You have a great project. You don't need IGF, bro.

[phubans]

Nope they announced a while back that mobile games would be rolled in with the rest, they said the quality of mobile games is getting high enough that they can be judged with all of the other games (if I recall correctly).

Ah, okay. Glad I didn't enter then.

You have a great project. You don't need IGF, bro.

Haha, thanks. We'll see if that's true when I hit the market. I'm just a little confused about the criteria for IGF, and maybe I'm wrong to cry nepotism every year, because maybe it's meant to give exposure to games that aren't really commercially viable but still cool in their own right? I dunno, I'm just having some trouble understanding the motivations of some of these judges, so it's easy to assume they're just passing their friends in.

[Matthew]

Haha, thanks. We'll see if that's true when I hit the market. I'm just a little confused about the criteria for IGF, and maybe I'm wrong to cry nepotism every year, because maybe it's meant to give exposure to games that aren't really commercially viable but still cool in their own right? I dunno, I'm just having some trouble understanding the motivations of some of these judges, so it's easy to assume they're just passing their friends in.

You're incorrect.  It absolutely isn't meant to be games that "aren't really commercially viable".

It's meant to the best games entered in each category.

[Schoq]

And what's the motivation for allowing unfinished games then?

[phubans]

Well then it's mostly just a matter of taste, and I don't agree with the tastes at large in the indie game community. There's too much focus on artsy/abstract/nuovo type stuff and it always feels like there's never any finalists who honor the traditional approach to game design. Why does "indie" have to carry the connotation of re-inventing the wheel?

Anyways, how much are the judges being mixed up? Or are you guys just recycling the same people every year?

[hanako]

Well, I can't say I'm not crushed, and it's pretty clear it's a waste of time for me to ever enter the IGF again, but on the bright side, I'm still happy that at least you did add a narrative category... so best of luck to them that gets the hat.

[nyyjen]

Congratulations to all the finalists! Looking forward to see who is taking the trophies in March.


A lot of excellent games did not get mentioned. Let's not be discouraged and let's continue to make our games the best we can. 

[Manuel Magalhães]

Congratulations to the finalists.

[melos]

Congratulations to all the finalists! Looking forward to see who is taking the trophies in March.


A lot of excellent games did not get mentioned. Let's not be discouraged and let's continue to make our games the best we can. 

This - if your game can influence a few people, then that's very good. I wouldbt worry about  if you didn't place.

[phubans]

My prediction is that Hotline Miami will take the Grand Prize this year. Who wants to put money on this?

[Matthew]

And what's the motivation for allowing unfinished games then?

This is a good question!  And it's debated quite a bit.

The full mission of the IGF two-pronged, "best" and "encourage innovation".  And yeah, this varies quite a bit on the individual level.  As a festival the IGF is sort of the gestalt opinion of its judges and juries.  Personally, I think allowing in-development titles falls under "encourage innovation".  And speaking as a developer who has entered in years past, I liked having the motivation boost.  But to be honest, it's also in place simply because it's always been in place for the last 15 years.  It's something people expect.

Anyways, how much are the judges being mixed up? Or are you guys just recycling the same people every year?

The juries were mixed up quite a bit this year.  Check the news stories for each jury to see a list of names:
http://igf.com/2012/12/igf_2013_highlights_visual_art.html
http://igf.com/2012/12/igf_2013_highlights_initial_de.html
http://igf.com/2012/12/igf_2013_reveals_narrative_nuo.html

The IGF system has two phases:

- A pool of ~250 judges plays the entries.  They leave comments (to each other), leave notes (to entrants, and to the jury), and can vote on games for specific awards.  There are also mechanisms for asking the entrant questions in case of technical issues.

- Small juries for each award view the list of games as filtered by judges' scores.  This list seeds private discussion for each jury.  After a period of time playing the game, and discussing each, the jury votes.  This vote determines the finalists (top 5) and the honorable mentions (next 5).

[Chris Pavia]

When does the feedback get sent out?

[ThemsAllTook]

so apparently

and

looks better than

I'd certainly say so. I can tell a huge amount of work was put into Dust, but from watching the trailer, the impression I came away with was that it's a messy mishmash of different art styles that don't really work together. Those first two are far more cohesive, and manage to be very expressive despite their apparent simplicity. Sometimes, less is more.

...man, that sounded pretentious. Congratulations to the finalists! Very happy to see Super Hexagon up there, quite well deserved.

[Hangedman]

Some decent variety, a few surprises, fewer big names. I'm not too displeased with the list.
Going to be lots to argue about though.

Disappointed that Stanley didn't get into Narrative, that FRACT didn't get into Audio, and that Dust didn't get anywhere. I will agree though that Dust is kind of busy looking, but the art is still very good.

My guesses for what will win (not necessarily what i'd vote for, as i haven't played enough of them to say):
Visual: Kentucky Route Zero
Narrative: Cart Life
Tech: Not sure actually
Design: Super Hexagon
Audio: Hotline Miami
Nuovo: Spaceteam or Dys4ia
Seumas: Could go any way but probably HLM

EDIT: Where is the Iconoclasts?

[Musenik]

7 Grand Steps was selected Nuovo finalist and mentioned, honorably, in the new narrative category.  Very happy, but scratching my head a bit. I guess my game is weirder than it is well written. Mostly, I'm proud that 7GS is just really fun to play.

Thank you, fellow TIGSers! Your bottomless pool of enthusiasm, creativity, and community helped me keep moving through nearly four years of development, and it's not quite done. Probably in a month or two, though.

I'll be announcing the availability of demos, tomorrow. Hope you all go nuts with them.

[phubans]

Was there ever any measures taken to confirm that judges were even playing games, Matthew? I remember that being a big issue last year.